Flight simulators have been in use for several years. U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,718 describes a flight simulator which supports movement of a passenger compartment along a pitch, a roll and a yaw axes. Such simulators bring a high degree of realism to the flight simulation experience.
Given the high cost of actual flight time and the relative safety of using a flight simulator for training purposes, there is an increasing demand for realistic flight simulators which can be used to train civilian as well as military pilots. Flight simulators of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,718 provide reasonably realistic simulations of routine flight conditions. However, such simulators may fail to provide a realistic sense of sudden turbulence such as the type that may be encountered in the case of wind sheer and other unexpected and often extremely challenging flight conditions. Such flight simulators also suffer from a limited ability to simulate sustained G forces in excess of one G which may be encountered, e.g., during actual combat conditions.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved flight simulators that can more realistically simulate difficult flight conditions including sudden changes in aircraft elevation due to unexpected turbulence. There is also a need for a flight simulator that can subject a simulation participant to sustained G forces in excess of 1 G while still providing a reasonably accurate simulation of other flight characteristics.